UFC News & FeaturesOrder UFC 280 "Oliveira vs. Makhachev" exclusively on ESPN+
Featherweights
Zubaira Tukhugov (20-5-1, 5-2-1 UFC) vs. Lucas Almeida (14-1, 1-0 UFC)Advertisement
This should be an entertaining scrap, which is not always a guarantee when it comes to Tukhugov’s fights. The Russian is probably still best known for his involvement in the post-UFC 229 melee involving Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, but Tukhugov has always been a talented fighter, if often a frustrating one. A clear athlete with both speed and power, Tukhugov does not particularly maximize his tools. Given the opportunity, “Warrior” would clearly just prefer to stay at range and snipe at his opponents with single strikes rather than pour things on. Tukhugov can sometimes make those moments count with some impressive bursts of violence, but for a fighter who is so talented, it says a lot that half of his UFC fights have ended in a split decision—and not always gone his way. Tukhugov’s willingness to slow things down has sucked the energy out of many of his fights, but thankfully, he seems to have turned a corner in that aspect. His last win over Ricardo Ramos, which came roughly a year ago, saw the most consistent performance in years out of Tukhugov in terms of keeping a pace and throwing out offense. That figures to continue against Brazil’s Almeida, who seems guaranteed to bring the action and keep Tukhugov out of his shell. Almeida had a spotty record coming into his 2021 fight on Dana White’s Contender Series but looked good in losing a fun bout against Daniel Zellhuber. As such, it was not a shock that Almeida got the UFC call shortly after he got back into the win column on the regional scene. Despite being 31 years old and deep into his career, Almeida does appear to be improving. His UFC debut against Michael Trizano saw him do a much better job of pacing himself in an all-action fight before scoring a third-round knockout. This should be a dogfight early as Almeida forces the action, but unless the Brazilian can find an early finish, this does appear to be a fight where Tukhugov can start controlling things as the faster fighter and someone willing to wrestle. At the very least, Almeida should force him to work for the win over the course of 15 minutes. The pick is Tukhugov via decision.
Jump To »
Brady vs. Muhammad
Borralho vs. Muradov
Krylov vs. Oezdemir
Tukhugov vs. Almeida
Nurmagomedov vs. Omargadzhiev
Petrosyan vs. Dobson
Mokaev vs. Gordon
Rosa vs. Lansberg
More
